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Virtual worlds emerge within agencies

By GCN Staff

Apr 23, 2012

Several years ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintained more than a dozen virtual environments for online visitors to explore in Second Life. Now it operates just one, reports Alice Lipowicz in Federal Computer Week.

For NOAA and other federal agencies, the focus of virtual world activity has moved beyond Second Life and diversified onto other platforms and gaming engines, according to Eric Hackathorn, a 3-D Web designer for NOAA and one of the federal pioneers in virtual worlds.

“Virtual worlds are in need of some rebranding,” Hackathorn told Federal Computer Week. “Historically, virtual worlds were synonymous with Second Life, but that is no longer the case.”

While several agencies, including NOAA, NASA, Defense Department and National Library of Medicine, maintain a presence on Second Life, several current initiatives have shifted to open-source and in-house platforms and interagency efforts, he said. For example, DOD's PTSD Experience invites users to learn about post-traumatic stress disorder.